The Oahe Dam power plant north of Pierre and Fort Pierre is doing its part to supply electricity to the region during the current cold snap.
US Army Corps of Engineers Chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division John Remus says this week, his staff and the Omaha District field personnel, worked with the Western Area Power Administration to increase generation from the Missouri River mainstem reservoir system, including Oahe. He says this helped reduce the impacts of rolling blackouts to customers throughout the entire Southwest Power Pool.
Remus says the average winter release from the Oahe Dam Reservoir is approximately 20,000 cfs. Earlier this week, it was releasing roughly 35,200 cfs.
Remus says releases can vary considerably throughout the day, from day to day and from week to week, depending on the need to move water through the reservoir system and the power needs of WAPA.
Remus says the US Army Corps will continue to do all they can to supply power, but they need to be careful not to increase releases from Missouri River reservoirs to the point of causing dangerous flooding, especially in the Pierre-Fort Pierre area.
Comments